LEDs are now being used in a variety of lighting application, both for efficiency and durability. One of the most difficult lighting applications is automotive head lighting, and there is a drive to use LEDs in headlamps because of their long life and ruggedness. Good luminance is required, but LED are significantly less luminous than tungsten halogen filaments or arc discharges; therefore, a plurality of LEDs must be used to generate the total number of lumens required. This may be achieved by ganging a plurality of LEDs together, but dispersed light sources are difficult to optically integrate, and forward automotive lighting requires excellent beam direction. There is then a need for an LED headlamp system with sufficient lumens and good beam structure. It is possible to achieve the headlight function by dispersing LEDs over a great area. This helps resolve the problem of excessive heating, but it exaggerates the beam building and optical problems by requiring beam alignments from differing directions. It also forces the housing and support structures to be large, cumbersome and expensive. There is then a need for an optically compact LED head lighting system.